This gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) framework the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) operations in South Asia serves as a guide for effectively fulfilling GESI-related mandates as outlined in ADB’s Strategy 2030. Developed through an extensive 2-year consultative process from 2020 to 2022, the GESI framework highlights the various dimensions of exclusion and vulnerability, including their intersections with gender inequality and each another. By adopting an intersectionality lens, the GESI framework spotlights the diverse experiences of women and disadvantaged groups, recognizing that the impacts of gender inequality and social exclusion vary based on intersecting identities. The GESI framework promotes context-sensitive and integrated actions to advance GESI goals.

This framework outlines how to integrate gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) into ADB's operations in South Asia to help close the gender gap, combat exclusion, and bolster equitable economic growth. It highlights the experience of women and disadvantaged groups and assesses the impact of pervasive gender inequality and social exclusion. It includes practical guides and tools that can be integrated throughout project design and implementation. It underscores the need to improve data collection showing how women and vulnerable groups are excluded and increase financial and technical support to better target inclusive and sustainable development.

This guidance note outlines how sector agencies in South Asia can develop gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) strategies, highlights their key elements, and shows how to effectively integrate them into projects and policies. Explaining how GESI strategies can help sector agencies tackle the barriers women and vulnerable groups face, it offers tips on how to adopt participatory processes to help develop and implement inclusive frameworks. It explains why sector agencies need to adapt strategies to their local norms and practices, allocate budgets, and adopt institutional policies to ensure GESI is effectively mainstreamed into organizations.

ADB's South Asia Department conducted a study to assess the status and responses to the needs of disadvantaged groups in its member countries and identify entry points for greater gender equality and social inclusion impacts in its operations. This publication presents the results, providing an analysis of nine dimensions of exclusion and vulnerability- gender inequality; old age, disability, social identity, diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics; geographic location; income poverty; young age; and migrant status-and how these dimensions overlap in the lives of people with intersecting disadvantaged identities. Drawing from the good practices of governments, civil society organizations, and ADB-financed projects in South Asia, the publication provides SARD a 10-point guide for designing and operationalizing programs for gender equality and social inclusion.

This guidance note provides an overview of methods for evaluating the gender equality and social inclusion impacts of ADB programs and projects in South Asia. This guidance note aims to impart knowledge of vital points to consider when preparing impact evaluations. It outlines key steps for ADB staff, consultants, and project executing and implementing agencies involved in conducting impact evaluations. Additionally, the note explores modalities to assess the effectiveness of project interventions and gathers perspectives from project beneficiaries.

In March 2012, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held the Subregional Workshop on Gender and Urban Poverty in South Asia to share experiences and enhance lateral learning among ADB and its project partners on addressing gender and social inclusion issues in urban development projects in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Participants included senior government officials, nongovernment organizations, community-based organizations, researchers, ADB urban and gender specialists, and representatives of international development agencies.This report presents the synthesis of knowledge, experiences, good practices, and recommendations shared at the forum with the aim of assisting ADB and its partner agencies in the planning of urban development projects to facilitate gender- and socially inclusive outcomes and reduce poverty in South Asia.

This guidance note aims to enhance the quality of poverty and social analysis for the design of country partnership strategies and programs in South Asia. The guidance note outlines approaches for conducting Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) analysis at the country, sector, and project levels to determine the GESI elements within ADB's country partnership strategies and projects in South Asia. It emphasizes the need to enhance the analysis of intersectional dimensions of exclusion and vulnerability experienced by individuals with intersecting disadvantaged identities.

This publication is part of the commitment of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to document gender equality results in its operations. It presents case studies in ADB priority sectors: urban development, rural infrastructure, and education. The case studies provide an overview of gender issues, design features, and implementation arrangements that contributed to achieving gender-related targets in six ADB projects.

Despite some progress, women's share in senior management is still poor. Closing the gender gap in leadership leads to better business and financial outcomes. ADB's Trade Finance Program—which guaranteed or funded 3,500 transactions in 2017 valued at $4.5 billion—conducted a gender audit among several of its partner banks. The objective of this study was to develop specific, practical and implementable recommendations to attract, retain, and promote more women in banking. This study was a joint effort between ADB's Private Sector Department and the Gender Equity Thematic Group, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Rapid gender assessments of 12 projects in four countries were undertaken as part of the Asian Development Bank's commitment to improving aid effectiveness. The assessment of loans in Indonesia, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Viet Nam found that positive gender equality results were achieved due to the implementation of gender action plans and provisions. Gender action plans were effective tools for ensuring that both women and men participated in and benefited from projects. Gender equality results and gender action plans contributed directly to achieving loan outcomes and improved project effectiveness in microfinance, rural water supply, urban environmental sanitation, health, education, multisectoral rural development, and infrastructure loans. This report details the approach taken to address gender inequalities and the gender equality results achieved for each sector, discusses the challenges to addressing gender issues in each sector, summarizes factors that enhanced the quality of project design and implementation, and makes recommendations to maximize gender equity as a driver of change.